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I never really cook from recipes. But the worst is when something turns out great and I can't figure out how to make it again!

It's always good to go over the recipe beforehand, so you can easily think of the next thing that needs to be done.

Recipes tell you nothing. Learning techniques is the key.

After all these years of cooking and writing recipes, I am still amazed every time I notice how even the minutest of variation in technique can make a spectacular difference.

Don't be afraid to adapt new ingredients into your own techniques, and traditional ingredients into new recipes.

As I mature as a chef, I no longer aim to pack multiple techniques and ingredients into a single dish. Realizing that restraint is more difficult, I find it often renders incredibly beautiful results.

A big thing that gets people in trouble in the kitchen is not reading the recipe from start to finish before you cook it. Before you start anything, read through the entire recipe once.

Mastering one recipe is better than mastering too many. Learn something and own it, and you'll feel so much better about it. You'll have more confidence if you've made it five times, and that confidence adds so much fun to cooking.

You have no choice as a professional chef: you have to repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat until it becomes part of yourself. I certainly don't cook the same way I did 40 years ago, but the technique remains. And that's what the student needs to learn: the technique.

Be sure to read a recipe all the way through before you cook. The time it saves you in the long run is invaluable.